Stars' Joe Pavelski plans to retire

 

Joe Pavelski says he has played his last game after 1,533 games over 18 NHL seasons without ever getting to raise the Stanley Cup.

Pavelski, who will turn 40 next month and recently completed his fifth season with the Dallas Stars, made his decision public on Tuesday. It happened two days after the Stars suffered their second consecutive loss in Game 6 of the Western Conference playoffs. After his first season with Dallas ended in 2020, he made it to the Stanley Cup Final. In 2016, he did the same with San Jose.

“He’s the ultimate pro. He just does everything right, he’s done that his whole career,” Stars general manager Jim Nill said just before the playoffs started. “We’re fortunate to be able for him to come here and what he’s done for our franchise. And, he does it on the ice, he does it off the ice. He’s a good person, his family life is is handled the right way, and he’s passed it on to a lot of our players.”

The Wisconsin native, whose 74 playoff goals rank first among active players and are the most by a player born in the United States, was nearing the end of his Stars deal.

After being chosen by the Sharks with the 205th overall pick in the seventh round of the 2003 draft, Pavelski made his NHL debut in the 2006–07 season and finished with 1,332 regular-season goals and 592 assists. He finished this season ranked seventh with 1,068 points and fifth in goals among active players.

Pavelski ended with 201 postseason games, making him the 25th player to reach that milestone. Among those people, he is the only one without a Cup title. Throughout the 19 postseason games, he scored just one goal.

Joe Pavelski was a 7th-round pick in the 2003 NHL Draft …

🔹1,332 career NHL games played
🔹475 goals
🔹1,068 points
🔹x4 NHL All-Star
🔹Most playoff goals by an American-born player (74)

What an unbelievable story 👏 pic.twitter.com/OTsVQ2WSjM

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 4, 2024